Cool air supply structure for refrigerator

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a cool air supply structure for a refrigerator, including an inner casing defining a storage space in the refrigerator, a cool air discharge hole formed at the inner casing, and a passage member provided at the rear face of the inner casing, for forming a cool air passage and communicating with the cool air discharge hole, or including a passage provided at a rear face of an inner casing defining a storage space in the refrigerator, the cool air to be supplied to the storage space flowing in the passage, and at least one cool air discharge hole formed at the front face of the inner casing, and operated as an outlet for discharging the cool air flowing in the passage. As a result, the flow of the cool air can be facilitated by the simple configuration.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a refrigerator, and more particularly,to a cool air supply structure for a refrigerator which can circulatethe cool air in a storage space of the refrigerator.

BACKGROUND ART

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a conventional refrigerator with acool air supply structure, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional viewillustrating the cool air supply structure of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, an outer casing 11 defines the exterior of arefrigerator main body 10, and inner casings 13 defining the interior ofthe main body 10 form a freezing chamber 15 and a refrigerating chamber17 in the up-down direction. The freezing chamber 15 and therefrigerating chamber 17 are selectively opened and closed by a freezingchamber door 15D and a refrigerating chamber door 17D installed at themain body 10, respectively. Here, the leading ends of the freezingchamber door 15D and the refrigerating chamber door 17D are pivotablearound one ends thereof in the forward-backward direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a pair of passage grooves 18 are formed at theinner casing 13 corresponding to the rear face of the refrigeratingchamber 17. The passage grooves 18 are formed by depressing parts of theinner casing 13 to the rear of the refrigerating chamber 17 to be longin the up-down direction with a predetermined width. The passage grooves18 are intended to define passages 25 explained later.

Meanwhile, a cool air duct 21 is provided at the rear face of therefrigerating chamber 17. The cool air duct 21 serves to transfer thecool air heat-exchanged in an evaporator (not shown) provided at therear end of the freezing chamber 15 to the refrigerating chamber 17. Thecool air duct 21 is formed in a flat polyhedral shape with one openface, and closely adhered to the inner casing 13. In this embodiment,the cool air duct 21 is formed in a polyhedral shape with a hexahedralcross section, which is not intended to be limiting.

The cool air duct 21 is fixed to one side of the inner casing 13corresponding to the rear face of the refrigerating chamber 17. The coolair duct 21 can be fixed to the inner casing 13 by a separate fastener(not shown) or a hook (not shown) of the cool air duct 21. In a statewhere the cool air duct 21 is fixed to the inner casing 13, the passagegrooves 18 are positioned in the longitudinal section region adjacent toboth side ends of the cool air duct 21.

A lamp installation portion 23 is provided at the top center portion ofthe cool air duct 21. A lamp (not shown) for lighting the refrigeratingchamber 17 is installed at the lamp installation portion 23. A pair ofpassages 25 are formed at both sides of the space between the innercasing 13 and the cool air duct 21 which correspond to both sides of thelamp installation portion 23 to be long in the up-down direction. Here,the passages 25 are substantially defined by the passage grooves 18 andboth inner ends of the cool air duct 21. The passages 25 function aspaths for the cool air heat-exchanged in the evaporator.

A plurality of cool air discharge holes 27 are formed at both side endsof the front face of the cool air duct 21. The cool air discharge holes27 communicate with the passages 25, respectively, and thus function asoutlets for discharging the cool air flowing in the passages 25 to therefrigerating chamber 17.

Insulation members 29 are provided in the passages 25, namely, betweenthe inner casing 13 and the cool air duct 21. The insulation members 19prevent the heat exchange between the refrigerating chamber 17 and thecool air flowing in the passages 25, and also prevent the cool airflowing in the passages 25 from being externally leaked through thespace between the inner casing 13 and the cool air duct 21. Theinsulation members 29 surround the whole passages 25 except one sides ofthe passages 25 communicating with the cool air discharge holes 27. Thatis, the cool air heat-exchanged in the evaporator substantially flows inthe insulation members 29.

Reference numeral 14 denotes an insulating layer. The insulating layer14 is provided between the outer casing 11 and the inner casing 13, forpreventing the heat exchange between the freezing chamber 15 or therefrigerating chamber 17 and the installation space of the refrigerator.

However, the conventional cool air supply structure for the refrigeratorhas the following disadvantages.

As described above, the passages 25 are defined by the inner casing 13and the cool air duct 21. That is, the refrigerator needs the separatecool air duct 21 for supplying the cool air heat-exchanged in theevaporator to the refrigerating chamber 17, which complicates theproduct configuration.

Moreover, a gap may be formed between the inner casing 13 and the coolair duct 21 due to a size error or a working tolerance of the innercasing 13 or the cool air duct 21. As a result, the cool air flowing inthe passages 25 is not discharged in a predetermined direction throughthe cool air discharge holes 27, but leaked to the outside, namely, tothe refrigerating chamber 17 through the gap. That is, the cool air isnot evenly supplied to the refrigerating chamber 17.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is conceived to solve theaforementioned problems in the prior art. An object of the presentinvention is to provide a cool air supply structure for a refrigeratorwith a simple configuration.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cool air supplystructure for a refrigerator which can efficiently flow the cool air toa storage space.

In order to achieve the above-described objects of the invention, thereis provided a cool air supply structure for a refrigerator, including:an inner casing defining a storage space in the refrigerator; a cool airdischarge hole formed at the inner casing; and a passage member providedat the rear face of the inner casing, for forming a cool air passage andcommunicating with the cool air discharge hole.

A part of the inner casing can form a long passage groove protruding tothe storage space, and the passage member can be provided inside thepassage groove at the rear face of the inner casing. Preferably, thelong passage groove can be formed in a pair to be spaced apart from eachother at a predetermined interval.

The passage member can make the passage communicate with the cool airdischarge hole, and shield the passage from a foaming space wherein therear face of the inner casing forms a part of the boundary. In thiscase, the passage member includes a first member and a second member.The first member makes the passage communicate with the cool airdischarge hole, and opens a part of the passage toward the foamingspace, and the second member shields the part of the passage open to thefoaming space from the foaming space. The first member can include adischarge opening communicating with the cool air discharge hole. Inaddition, one face of the first member can be closely adhered to therear face of the inner casing, and the other face of the first membercan be closely adhered to the second member, for forming the passagebetween the first member and the second member. Preferably, at least oneseating protrusion and seating recess matching in shape with each otherare provided at the closely-adhered faces of the first and secondmembers, respectively.

In addition, there is provided a cool air supply structure for arefrigerator, including: a passage provided at a rear face of an innercasing defining a storage space in the refrigerator, the cool air to besupplied to the storage space flowing in the passage; and at least onecool air discharge hole formed at the front face of the inner casing,and operated as an outlet for discharging the cool air flowing in thepassage.

A part of the inner casing can form a long passage groove protruding tothe storage space, and the passage can be provided inside the passagegroove at the rear face of the inner casing. Preferably, the longpassage groove can be formed in a pair to be spaced apart from eachother at a predetermined interval.

The passage can be formed by a separate insulation member. In this case,the insulation member can make the passage communicate with the cool airdischarge hole, and shield the passage from a foaming space wherein therear face of the inner casing forms a part of the boundary. In addition,the insulation member includes a first member and a second member. Thefirst member makes the passage communicate with the cool air dischargehole, and opens a part of the passage toward the foaming space, and thesecond member shields the part of the passage open to the foaming spacefrom the foaming space. The first member can include a discharge openingcommunicating with the cool air discharge hole. Moreover, one face ofthe first member can be closely adhered to the rear face of the innercasing, and the other face of the first member can be closely adhered tothe second member, for forming the passage between the first member andthe second member. Preferably, at least one seating protrusion andseating recess matching in shape with each other are provided at theclosely-adhered faces of the first and second members, respectively.

According to the present invention, the flow of the cool air can befacilitated by the simple configuration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become better understood with reference tothe accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustrationand thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a conventional refrigerator with acool air supply structure;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the cool air supplystructure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cool air supplystructure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;and

FIGS. 4 a to 4 c are cross-sectional views illustrating a manufacturingprocess of the embodiment of FIG. 3.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A cool air supply structure for a refrigerator in accordance withpreferred embodiments of the present invention will be described indetail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a cool air supplystructure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.Reference numerals of FIG. 1 are used for the same elements.

Referring to FIG. 3, a pair of passage grooves 58 are provided at a rearface of a refrigerating chamber 57 provided in a refrigerator main body10. The passage grooves 58 are substantially formed by an inner casing53 defining the refrigerating chamber 57. That is, the passage grooves58 are formed by protruding parts of the inner casing 53 to the front ofthe refrigerating chamber 57 to be long in the up-down direction with apredetermined width. In this embodiment, the pair of passage grooves 58are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval.

A plurality of cool air discharge holes 59 are formed at the innercasing 53 corresponding to the insides of the passage grooves 58. Thecool air discharge holes 59 serve to discharge the cool airheat-exchanged in an evaporator to the refrigerating chamber 57. Theplurality of cool air discharge holes 59 are formed at the passagegrooves 58 with corresponding heights, respectively.

A lamp installation portion 61 is provided at one side of the innercasing 53 corresponding to the space between the passage grooves 58. Alamp (not shown) selectively flickered by opening and closing of therefrigerating chamber 57, for lighting the refrigerating chamber 57 isinstalled at the lamp installation portion 61. Preferably, the lampinstallation portion 61 is formed at the top center portion of the rearface of the refrigerating chamber 57.

Meanwhile, insulation members 63 are provided at the rear face of theinner casing 53 corresponding to the insides of the passage grooves 58,respectively. The insulation members 63 substantially form passages 69for supplying the cool air heat-exchanged in the evaporator provided ata rear end of a freezing chamber 15 to the refrigerating chamber 57. Inthis embodiment, each of the insulation members 63 includes a firstmember 64 and a second member 67. The first member 64 is fixed to theinside of the passage groove 58. Here, one face of the first member 64is closely adhered to the rear face of the inner casing 53 correspondingto the inside of the passage groove 58. A part of the first member 64 isdepressed to be long in the up-down direction to form the passage 69. Aplurality of discharge openings 65 communicating with the cool airdischarge holes 59 are formed at one face of the first member 64 closelyadhered to the inside of the passage groove 58. In addition, a seatingprotrusion 66 is provided at the other face of the first member 64opposite to one face of the first member 64 closely adhered to theinside of the passage groove 58. The seating protrusion 66 is formed byprotruding the other face of the first member 64 to the rear by apredetermined thickness.

In a state where one face of the second member 67 is closely adhered tothe other face of the first member 64, the second member 67 is fixed tothe inside of the passage groove 58, substantially, to the first member64. The second member 67 shields the depressed portion of the firstmember 64 from a foaming space wherein the rear face of the inner casing53 forms a part of the boundary, thereby forming the passage 69. Aseating recess 68 corresponding to the seating protrusion 66 is formedat one face of the second member 67. The seating recess 68 is formed bydepressing one face of the second member 67 to the rear by apredetermined depth. In a state where one face of the second member 67is closely adhered to the other face of the first member 64, the seatingprotrusion 66 is seated in the seating recess 68.

In the meantime, the insulation members 63 are completely fixed by aninsulating layer 54 formed in the foaming space. That is, in a statewhere one face of the first member 64 and one face of the second member67 are closely adhered to the inside of the passage groove 58 and theother face of the first member 64, respectively, a foaming liquid filledand foamed in the foaming space whose boundaries are defined by an outercasing 11 and the inner casing 53 is solidified to form the insulatinglayer 54, thereby completely fixing the insulation members 63. Thesecond members 67 shield the passages 69 from the foaming space, so thatthe foaming liquid is not leaked into the passages 69 or to the outsideof the inner casing 53 through the passages 69 in the foaming process.Here, the shielding degree means a degree of preventing the foamingliquid from being leaked into the passages 69 in the foaming process.

Alternatively, the insulation members 63 can be provided as one member.

The manufacturing process of the cool air supply structure for therefrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIGS. 4 a to 4 c are cross-sectional views illustrating themanufacturing process of the cool air supply structure for therefrigerator according to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 4 a, the inner casing 53 is vacuum-molded in apredetermined shape to define the refrigerating chamber 57. Here, thepassage groove 58 is formed by protruding a part of the inner casing 53corresponding to the rear face of the refrigerating chamber 57, Inaddition, the cool air discharge holes 59 are formed by cutting parts ofthe inner casing 53 corresponding to the inside of the passage groove58. As occasion demands, the cool air discharge holes 59 can be formedin the initial molding.

As shown in FIG. 4 b, one face of the first member 64 is closely adheredto the rear face of the inner casing 53 corresponding to the inside ofthe passage groove 58. Here, the discharge openings 65 of the firstmember 64 communicate with the cool air discharge holes 59. The firstmember 64 is fixed to the inside of the passage groove 58 by an adhesiveor a double-faced tape.

In a state where the first member 64 is fixed to the inside of thepassage groove 58, as depicted in FIG. 4 c, the second member 67 isfixed to the first member 64. In a state where one face of the secondmember 67 is closely adhered to the other face of the first member 64,the second member 67 is fixed by an adhesive or a double-faced tape.When the second member 67 is fixed to the first member 64, the passage69 is formed by the depressed portion of the first member 64 and oneface of the second member 67.

As described above, after the first and second members 64 and 67 arefixed to the inside of the passage groove 58, the inner casing 53 iscoupled to the inside of the outer casing 11. The foaming liquid isfilled and foamed in the foaming space whose boundaries are defined bythe outer casing 11 and the inner casing 53. When the foaming liquid issolidified in the foaming space to form the insulating layer 54, asshown in FIG. 3, the first and second members 64 and 67 are completelyfixed.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendescribed, it is understood that the present invention should not belimited to these preferred embodiments but various changes andmodifications can be made by one skilled in the art within the spiritand scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the present invention, the cool air supply structure forthe refrigerator with the above configuration has the followingadvantages.

First, according to the present invention, the passages for supplyingthe cool air heat-exchanged in the evaporator to the storage space canbe formed without a separate cool air duct. As the number of thecomponents constituting the product is reduced, the manufacturing costof the product can be cut down.

Moreover, according to the present invention, the passages can besubstantially formed between the inner casing and the insulating layer.Therefore, the cool air flowing in the passages is not leaked to theoutside of the passage, namely, to the storage space. As a result, thecool air can be evenly supplied to the storage space, for conductingefficient cooling.

1. A cool air supply structure for a refrigerator, comprising: an innercasing defining a storage space in the refrigerator; a cool airdischarge hole formed at the inner casing; and a passage member providedat the rear face of the inner casing, for forming a cool air passage andcommunicating with the cool air discharge hole.
 2. The cool air supplystructure of claim 1, wherein a part of the inner casing forms a longpassage groove protruding to the storage space, and the passage memberis provided inside the passage groove at the rear face of the innercasing.
 3. The cool air supply structure of claim 2, wherein the longpassage groove is formed in a pair to be spaced apart from each other ata predetermined interval.
 4. The cool air supply structure of claim 1,wherein the passage member makes the passage communicate with the coolair discharge hole, and shields the passage from a foaming space whereinthe rear face of the inner casing forms a part of the boundary.
 5. Thecool air supply structure of claim 4, wherein the passage membercomprises a first member and a second member, the first member makes thepassage communicate with the cool air discharge hole, and opens a partof the passage toward the foaming space, and the second member shieldsthe part of the passage open to the foaming space from the foamingspace.
 6. The cool air supply structure of claim 5, wherein the firstmember comprises a discharge opening communicating with the cool airdischarge hole.
 7. The cool air supply structure of claim 5, wherein oneface of the first member is closely adhered to the rear face of theinner casing, and the other face of the first member is closely adheredto the second member, for forming the passage between the first memberand the second member.
 8. The cool air supply structure of claim 7,wherein at least one seating protrusion and seating recess matching inshape with each other are provided at the closely-adhered faces of thefirst and second members, respectively.
 9. A cool air supply structurefor a refrigerator, comprising: a passage provided at a rear face of aninner casing defining a storage space in the refrigerator, the cool airto be supplied to the storage space flowing in the passage; and at leastone cool air discharge hole formed at the front face of the innercasing, and operated as an outlet for discharging the cool air flowingin the passage.
 10. The cool air supply structure of claim 9, wherein apart of the inner casing forms a long passage groove protruding to thestorage space, and the passage is provided inside the passage groove atthe rear face of the inner casing.
 11. The cool air supply structure ofclaim 10, wherein the long passage groove is formed in a pair to bespaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval.
 12. The coolair supply structure of claim 9, wherein the passage is formed by aseparate insulation member.
 13. The cool air supply structure of claim12, wherein the insulation member makes the passage communicate with thecool air discharge hole, and shields the passage from a foaming spacewherein the rear face of the inner casing forms a part of the boundary.14. The cool air supply structure of claim 13, wherein the insulationmember comprises a first member and a second member, the first membermakes the passage communicate with the cool air discharge hole, andopens a part of the passage toward the foaming space, and the secondmember shields the part of the passage open to the foaming space fromthe foaming space.
 15. The cool air supply structure of claim 14,wherein the first member comprises a discharge opening communicatingwith the cool air discharge hole.
 16. The cool air supply structure ofclaim 14, wherein one face of the first member is closely adhered to therear face of the inner casing, and the other face of the first member isclosely adhered to the second member, for forming the passage betweenthe first member and the second member.
 17. The cool air supplystructure of claim 16, wherein at least one seating protrusion andseating recess matching in shape with each other are provided at theclosely-adhered faces of the first and second members, respectively.